Departure preparations

For once, we leave together. Two people means twice more luggages. We have 40 kilos, and we are authorized to get two hand luggages ! No need to say Bilal will have a very few things with him, but for once I won't need to discuss and explain that I don't want to abandon my cameras, neither my laptop, nor my lenses, nor any fragile and expensive electronic equipment. And apart from my passport, that's all I have with me as hand luggage....

We started to gather what we're taking.

• 1 new sleeping bag for Bilal
• 2 "meat sacks" (inner sleeping bags)
• 1 air mattress - yes, it's nice after 2 or 3 weeks on the road
• As much as possible automated watering equipment, for the oasis. Which means around 20 meters of porous pipe, a sample of non porous pipe (we should be able to find that easily in Morocco), and 10 meters of the very thin pipes. Two programmers, (one for the oasis and one for our house in Ouarzazate) and a lot of small plastic parts to build our waternet.
• 2 nice italian expresso coffee pot, for the oasis (we get addicted to expresso, and maybe you would love that)
• 1 real eiderdown, that I get from my granny, and 1 duvet for the cold nights of in Ouarzazate
• when we can find them in time, some blades for the threading machine (fileuse ? I don't know the name in english)
• fabrics that Bilal's sister gave me, to make some djellabahs
• clothes as gifts for the family, and perfumes

we considered my old printer, but that's just to big for a plane, it's now in the cellar, waiting for our car trip.

OK, we need also clothes (a little bit) travel guides (one), no more maps, as the one I bought are scanned and indexed for my GPS, but we also have to bring some papers for the company, and I created some flyers for the saffron cooperative in Taliouine, I would like to bring them.

Some large bags, that we'll use instead of the cases, when we are there. The larger bags will be used for the duvet and eiderdown, luckily the airline doesn't limit us in terms of number of pieces, just weight. And we're two to go to the airport, so we should be able to manage 6 pieces...

That reminds me last time, in Frankfurt, there was a woman, travelling alone with a little girl. That was totally impressive... She had around 60 kilos she intended to check in. First problem, one of the luggage was over the limit for bulky !
But the very very real problem was the amount of luggage she intended to take with her.

• 1 full handbag (you ladies, you know what I mean by full handbag)
• 1 extra little bag
• 1 vanity case
• 1 furcoat, a long large one
• the backpack of her daughter
• the bag with er daughter's barbies
• the bag with her daughter's other toys
• the bag with heur daughter's diapers
• her daughter's push chair
• her daughter's car seat
• and some stuff she bought in the free tax.
  

Can you imagine ?

They were three people to bring all that, her parents stayed in Germany, and she was surrounded by a pile of luggages.
And then, she had to open them, modify everything, try to make some luggages lighter...
Her father went to a shop, and had to buy two expensives extra pieces, to store all that.
And of course when she arrived in Casablanca, that was a real mess. But we did not stay two more hours in the airport to see the end of the story !

And some people DO pretend that I travel heavy.... Sigh :)

Anyway, by now, everything we have to pack is spread around on the floor, for the greatest pleasure of the cats !